Platinum Rule For Business

Happy, safe, and trusting humans are THE BIGGEST KEY to any business being able to operate. It is the foundation for employment, leadership, buying, and selling.

Surely, we can all agree that there is no way a business can make money without these systems in place. Today’s business environment is often demanding that these systems become #humancentric.

HOW DO WE BUILD A HAPPY SAFE AND TRUSTING BUSINESS? 

Follow my Platinum Rule of Business:

ALWAYS PROTECT YOUR PEOPLE, YOUR BRAND, AND YOUR SELF; in that order.

1: Protect People: Your people are the biggest asset of your business. They invest their time, talent, creative energy, and connections to benefit your business. They are the driving force behind every product, program, and client success. 

Put them first. ALWAYS!

The absolute minimum you can do is to treat them with respect and dignity! 

It doesn’t mean you need to roll over for them and meet every individual demand. It does mean to build a culture and environment where they feel safe, comfortable, and able to thrive – whatever that means to them. Communicate clear expectations, boundaries, rewards, corrective actions, and make sure everyone gets some say in what they are. 

Yes, it will always be shifting and evolving. This will help keep it fair for everyone.

Sometimes protecting your people means drastic changes to policies and functionalities. Sometimes the best thing for people (individual and collective) is to part ways.

2: Protect Brand: Your #brand is how your business is presented to and accepted by others. There are entire industries dedicated to how brands are communicated, but your brand ultimately lives in the hearts and minds of people.

Express your strengths and cultivate relationships where you look and feel your best while providing exceptional value to others. This is why is is so crucial to communicate with authenticity, integrity, and truth.

Protecting your brand is about consistency and constancy even while growing and evolving. Power comes from connecting and making others around you feel good – regardless if you are representing a consumer product, SaaS platform, service professional, or anything else.

Sometimes protecting your brand requires you to not pursue projects attached with buckets of money. 

Sometimes it means parting with paying clients/projects.

3: Protect Yourself: You cannot live up to the first two without your own mental and physical health. It absolutely takes a lot to lead this way and build a business. This method or approach is about systems that conspire for healthy growth and opportunity for everyone involved.

Protecting yourself means you get fair financial compensation throughout the year(s). It means you take regular time off and away from work – nightly, weekly, monthly, and annually. Block out 2 hours every day to NOT WORK. Take a vacation. Pursue a hobby that energizes and inspires you. 

Sometimes protecting yourself is about having the freedom to take chances, make mistakes, and learn from them all.

Sometimes it is about incorporating new people or services to replace the work you do (giving you the opportunity to explore new ways to grow, or to focus on self-care).

I often refer to this approach as a 21st Century Business as it is one of the most effective and efficient ways to grow a business in today’s ever-connected, worldwide marketplace. Every day we can find references to more brands who have used similar ideals to increase their impact and presence in the world. When you are ready to join these ranks; I will be ready to help.